1 year, 6 months, 2 weeks.
It had been precisely that long since Katniss Everdeen had last seen Peeta Mellark, though she hadn't even realised she'd been counting. But from the numbers that practically flashed like neon lights inside her head, it appeared as though she had.
Of course, she could always say that was how long it had been since her sister got married…but something told her that wasn't the reason she remembered.
She sat across from him, listening as he told a story about a recent portrait commission he'd completed. He was still the warm and engaging guy she'd grown up with, the one she'd known since they were five and had both attended District Twelve Elementary, followed by District Twelve High. They'd never really socialised in the same circles, had been nothing more than acquaintances, nothing more than someone they might have glanced at in the school hall. But she'd known (like every other girl in school) just how charming he was.
That still hadn't changed.
The last time they'd seen each other had been when her younger sister had unexpectedly married his older brother following a whirlwind courtship, after meeting at the Veterinary surgery where they both worked. The wedding had been sweet, simple, and Katniss and Peeta had gotten along fine while they'd completed their duties as Maid of Honour and Best Man. They'd reminisced (or in Katniss' case, complained) about their school years during the photos, he'd nodded encouragingly as she'd read her speech from carefully prepared note cards, and he hadn't stood on her toes during the obligatory bridal party dance.
It had been a wedding perfect for her sister, and afterwards she'd thought how great it was for Prim to have the extended family she'd always wanted and had always deserved. She'd deserved more than an emotionally absent mother and a sister who was about as unsociable as you could get. So rambunctious Aaran, his two brothers and their father were like a godsend, and she was grateful knowing that they'd always be there for her.
Since then, Peeta had been away for most of the time, though Prim would mention him occasionally, share with Katniss the stories he relayed in emails while he was travelling all over Europe, raising his profile as an artist. But now he was back, albeit for just a month to settle the sale of his apartment before he returned to Paris permanently. And as a result, she'd found herself sitting across from him in Prim and Aaran's cheery dining room, having a 'family dinner' and sharing pasta primavera.
Trying desperately - and failing miserably - not to stare at him.
He'd always been good looking, that she could never argue. But travel had done...something to him; though she didn't know what. All she knew was that in the last hour, she'd gone from thinking of him as Peeta Mellark, friendly and cute brother in law to Peeta Mellark, oh my god stop looking at his face and thinking about him sans pants.
Shifting in her chair and crossing one foot over the other, she tried to focus on what he was saying, on the conversation that surrounded her. Something about a bakery in Rue Cler, and beignets, and markets. Prim and Aaran both suddenly laughed, and Katniss did too, even though she had no clue what they were laughing at. But Peeta grinned at their response, so whatever it was, it must have been funny.
Cracking the knuckles of her free hand under the table, she raised her wine to her lips with her other and used the rim of the glass to help obscure her obvious gaze. She was certain it was his jaw, she thought firmly. The way it clenched and flexed. The way it moved when he chewed, the way it shifted when he grinned.
But then she thought maybe it was the grin itself - wide, warm, charming. A little more quirked up on the left, a dimple popping in his cheek on the right. And when his mouth smiled, his eyes smiled too.
Ok, it was the eyes. It had to be. Bright, blue, friendly. Complete and utter confidence in them as he spoke, a hint of a tease when he joked with Aaran, and something a little more...different in them when he locked gazes with her. It was that gaze that made her chest flush, and made her thankful that she'd worn a top with a wide neckline that showed off her collarbone rather than her cleavage. Because right now she was certain if it was bared, her chest would look like a tomato.
"Katniss?"
At the sound of her name, Katniss practically fell out of her seat. She glanced over at Prim, fumbled putting her glass back onto the table. "Sorry," she apologised, blushing. "I...drifted off. Big day at work."
"Of course," Peeta said smoothly, smiling across the table at her. "Prim mentioned in her last email that you've been working hard on a summer program for the kids at the recreation centre."
"Oh did she now?" Katniss raised her eyebrow at her sister, who stared blithely back.
"Yeah I did," Prim replied. "It's a good program, and you're doing a great job. Of course I'm going to brag about my sister."
Katniss looked away, embarrassed. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was talking about herself. If there were two things she didn't like, it was that, and other people talking about her on her behalf.
"Oh, well, you know…" she trailed off. "Madge and I just want to make sure the kids have somewhere fun and safe to hang out while they're on vacation and if their parents have to work. It just means I get to shoot lots of arrows and have waterbomb fights every day."
"It sounds like fun," Peeta said sincerely, leaning back in his seat slightly. He grasped his own glass in his hand, swirled the liquid around lightly before sipping at it, a small grin curving his lips.
Dammit, that smile.
Conversation, thankfully, moved onto some television program that Aaran and Prim were addicted to, and Katniss breathed a sigh of relief. If not so much because now the focus was off her.
But so that she could go back to looking at Peeta.
It didn't matter if it was ridiculous, if it was vaguely 'high-school-ish'. It wasn't like she had a notepad and was writing Mrs Katniss Mellark with love hearts around it, after all.
She just wanted to look at him. Appreciate him. Wonder how on earth she'd never noticed him in this way before.
The evening wore on, and as more wine flowed, the conversation grew. Even Katniss participated in a heated debate about the last season of Game of Thrones, and she felt lightheaded from laughter after Aaran launched into another one of the impersonations he was so well known for.
But it was definitely the gaze of Peeta across the table that made her stomach jump and quiver and tie itself in knots. He'd look at her occasionally - almost catching her looking at him - or he'd brush his hand against hers when handing her the bottle of wine. Electricity would jolt through her fingers and up her arm quicker than a bolt of lightning shot through the sky, and it would almost always feel like she'd swallowed her tongue.
Once, he'd slicked his own tongue across his upper lip, catching a small, ruby red drop of wine and she'd found herself mimicking the motion. He'd lazily rubbed a hand against the back of his neck when telling stories of his travels - of his time in Barcelona or Florence or Dubrovnik - and she'd felt the hairs on the back of her own neck rise. He'd flicked his eyes to hers and she hadn't been able to do anything but stare at the way his long, golden eyelashes tangled up together in the low, warm light.
His foot had accidentally knocked against hers just before Prim cleared their dishes from the table, and though he'd apologised the first time, the second time he'd simply left it there, lined up against hers, almost tempting her to slide her foot out of the simple black flats she wore to try and trail her toes up the inside of his jeans.
What the hell was she thinking?!
The pie was blueberry, it was announced with a flourish, a Mellark family favourite. Katniss breathed a sigh of relief as Prim announced she'd get the dessert ready, and asked if she would help - which had been great until Aaran had told her not to worry, that she was their guest, and that he'd help his wife.
And left her and Peeta alone.
Yup, just her, Peeta, the knots in her stomach, and the ache low - very low - in her belly.
"It's good to see you, Katniss," he murmured, shifting in his seat and lifting his eyes to hers the moment their siblings were out of the room. His foot jerked slightly against hers. "You look great."
She cleared her throat, traced a finger around the rim of her wine glass. "So, uh, so do you. Travelling...looks good on you."
"I recommend it," he replied, and his blue eyes were intense as he looked at her. She felt her stomach flare up with a thousand butterflies.
"T-travelling?" she repeated, and cursed herself for how dumb she sounded.
"Travelling," he agreed with a murmur. "You should do it sometime."
"Why?"
He shrugged smoothly, laying his hand out on the table and pressing his fingertips into the tablecloth. "There's something about being in a new place; the scents, the sights, the people. Some cities have a feel to them, and you immerse yourself in it, until you feel as though you've been there all along and you belong there." He began to trace patterns on the cloth with his pointer finger, his voice deepening as he stared back at her. "Other times you have to work a little harder to feel like you fit in, take your time, or go in with no fear...but when you do, and it feels like home, you know it was worth it."
She knew her mouth was wide open, her eyes confused. She wasn't even sure she knew what he was talking about any more. She looked desperately over towards the door that led to the kitchen, but she could hear whispering, and the occasional squeal of laughter from Prim.
They weren't coming back anytime soon.
"Yours must be all the fresh air from being outside with your work," Peeta suddenly said, drawing her attention back to him.
"My what?" Katniss replied, confused.
"Why you look so good. The flush on your cheeks, your tan, your glossy hair…"
"I've always spent my time outside," she grumbled. "Even back in high school."
"I know you did."
"I - what?" She did a double take, expecting him to be smiling, but his face was serious.
"I know," he repeated, and his voice dropped again, low and almost...was dangerous the right word? "Even back in high school you looked good. Great. Beautiful. Stunning. You always have."
She was certain that if she was in a cartoon, her jaw would have hit the table. "You're kidding me, right?"
He lifted an eyebrow lazily, and his foot moved against hers again, sending a jolt through her foot, up her calf, straight to her core. "Definitely not kidding," Peeta said quietly. Tension filled silence reigned between them while they stared at each other, until he finally broke. "I've not been able to stop staring at you all night, Katniss. I can't take my eyes off you. But that's nothing different to any other time I've been around you."
Her heart leapt up from her chest to her throat, and she dug her heels into the carpet to ground herself. "It was different at Prim and Aaran's wedding," she argued weakly.
"No it wasn't," he said resolutely, and this time his leg moved so that his calf was pressed up firmly against her own. She could feel the warmth of his flesh through two layers of jeans. "It was the same, Katniss, it's always been the same. You just weren't paying attention."
Prim and Aaran chose that moment to push back through the swinging door, arms full of deep yellow bowls filled with rich vanilla ice-cream and slices of pie with filling that was so blue it was almost unnatural. Peeta shifted in his seat, Katniss pulled her feet back and slid them under her chair, and Prim and Aaran sat down, none the wiser as to what had just transpired.
What the hell had just transpired? Had Peeta Mellark just told her he...had a crush on her or something?
Impossible
They ate, and conversation continued as normal. Except this time there were warm, lingering glances sent her way from Peeta, where it felt like his eyes were searing into her. Her body was so tightly wound up she was afraid she'd snap, and all she could think about was getting him naked on her sister's mahogany dining table.
"I have to go," she suddenly said, standing abruptly from her chair, pushing it back so the legs scraped noisily along the timber floors. She dropped her spoon into her now empty dish, where it rattled loudly. "I, uh, should go home, go to bed." Alone. "Big day today and all. So uh, yeah. Thanks for dinner Prim." She moved to plant a kiss on the cheek of her surprised sister, did the same to Aaran. She got to Peeta, held out a hand. "I'll, uh, see you next time you're in town," she told him as his hand reached for hers, and he turned those big blue eyes up to look at her.
Their palms clasped.
Big mistake.